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So I just ran power/ground wires from the modulator directly to the battery power/ground and its still doing the same thing. I found a station that comes in at about 75% (a lot of static, but you can still clearly hear the song being played and, if you really like the song, might actually listen to it). When I flip the modulator on, the station goes to almost all static (you can just barely heat some music in the background, but it'd be pretty hard to identify the song or anything like that). If I disconnect the ground from the battery, there is no change in functionality. So it seems like its grounding through the antenna, regardless of whether or not the ground cable from the modulator is actually connected to a ground or just dangling. The power source for the modulator also doesn't seem to matter as it works the same if its connected directly to the battery compared to when its connected to the head units harness. Any ideas what this all means? Do I have a faulty unit? Is this just something I'll have to live with? It seems like the ground is going through the antenna, so I don't know what I can do about that.
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Mar 9, 2015 19:22
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When I had an FM modulator years ago in a company car it was drat near CD quality, and all other stations came in normally/no added interference. Sounds like you have a bad unit.
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Mar 9, 2015 19:25
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Geoj posted:There's your problem. No need to run a wire back from the battery, just find a screw that is attached to something metal, back it out a few turns and wrap some bare wire from the ground around the screw and tighten it back down. See my orignal and last posts. My original installation did have the modulator properly grounded. After a couple weeks of dealing with static, I tore it apart looking for a better ground. At that time, I discovered that it worked the same whether not I even connected the ground wire at all. I just verified this by connecting straight to the battery and verified that it worked the same when I connected/disconnected it from the battery.
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Mar 9, 2015 19:25
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Sounds like the modulator is screwed, then. If you're really technically-minded you could crack it open and check out the solders, but if you aren't confident about it and don't mind waiting the week or so, just do an exchange. Wiggling the box while holding onto the wires just outside of it will let you know if the antenna connections are messed up, but it could just as easily be a different connection not directly connected to the wires
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Mar 9, 2015 20:34
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What kind of car is it? Maybe somebody's made a true auxiliary input for it.
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Mar 9, 2015 23:43
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Are there any good resources for DIY stuff, I know nothing about cars, but I want to pop the front and rear bumpers off my pontiac vibe and replace them myself. Another question for people who probably know more than me about this kind of stuff, I got quoted $995 for the part plus 8 hours labor to replace a radiator support, I checked google and it seems like these supports are going for around $120 or less if I just buy the part will most places take it and just charge me for labor?
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Mar 10, 2015 00:04
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CharlesM posted:What kind of car is it? Maybe somebody's made a true auxiliary input for it. 2006 Lexus RX400h. When I got the car (about 5 years ago) I looked around and the only thing I could find was like $300+ so I always used a cassette adapter. The cassette deck broke a couple months ago, which is why I got the FM modulator.
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Mar 10, 2015 00:27
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My step mom has a 95 Del Sol base model and it quit running today on the highway. My dad was driving it and it just stopped running. Are those Hondas in the vintage that the main relay might be the problem? He said that when he tried to start it again it sounded normal so Im thinking/hoping it wasnt the timing belt. I asked him to turn the key on so see what lights came on and the only one he recalled seeing was the battery light. IIRC the airbag/check engine/brake light should come on too, does that sound like its the main relay? Would the engine crank if the main relay quit? I havent looked at it myself yet, probably tomorrow.
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Mar 10, 2015 02:24
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Fart Pipe posted:My step mom has a 95 Del Sol base model and it quit running today on the highway. My dad was driving it and it just stopped running. Are those Hondas in the vintage that the main relay might be the problem? He said that when he tried to start it again it sounded normal so Im thinking/hoping it wasnt the timing belt. I asked him to turn the key on so see what lights came on and the only one he recalled seeing was the battery light. IIRC the airbag/check engine/brake light should come on too, does that sound like its the main relay? Would the engine crank if the main relay quit? I havent looked at it myself yet, probably tomorrow. Just to clarify, did he get it running again? If so definitely not the timing belt. We had a 96 Acura a while back that ended up being a main relay so it's definitely the right year range. IDK what else it runs but the main relay does run the fuel pump, which is what causes the no start (and the shutoff in this case if that's the problem); the starter/ignition is on a separate circuit, so it should crank just fine.
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Mar 10, 2015 02:43
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Got a couple of stupid questions. I just put a new set of wheels on my '04 Pontiac GTP. I swapped my old tires from the stock wheels to the new ones. I had this done at sears because bought the tires there and I have their road hazard plan so I get rotations and balancing for free. I've been back 3 times now and the wheels are still seriously off balance. What the hell is going on? Also, I put an aftermarket ZZP catted downpipe on to replace the disintegrating stock one. I had this done at the local shop I trust because I detest exhaust work. Everything was merry for about a week until today when I noticed a pretty loud leak. The shop is going to take a look at it in a few days but I was wondering if this was normal behavior, what with the heat and the expanding and contracting.
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Mar 10, 2015 02:55
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Fucknag posted:Just to clarify, did he get it running again? If so definitely not the timing belt. Oh yea its still not running, hes gonna get it towed tomorrow. For the cranking I meant it sounded normal and not uneven like the timing belt had broken. He mentioned that it seemed like the fuel pump stopped working so the main relay would make sense in that case.
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Mar 10, 2015 03:07
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Fart Pipe posted:Oh yea its still not running, hes gonna get it towed tomorrow. For the cranking I meant it sounded normal and not uneven like the timing belt had broken. He mentioned that it seemed like the fuel pump stopped working so the main relay would make sense in that case. Usually main relay issues show up as hard starting / no starting, especially when it's hot in the car (like sitting in the sun, etc). That's what happened with mine a few years back. I don't think I've heard of one that caused the car to quit once underway, although I'm not saying it's impossible. For my old Prelude at least, normal behavior when you turn the key to run (but not all the way to start) the engine light will come on for a few seconds while the pump primes, then shut off. In fact, look at the video I posted ITT a few days ago for how it's supposed to act (minus the wonky starting, obviously). I wouldn't imagine a Del Sol to be much different. I don't remember the details, but I do remember the engine light behaving differently when my main relay had poo poo itself. And yes - the car will crank all day even if the main relay has gone tits up. The only times it truly left me stuck were when the main relay went bad, and the time the electrical plug wiggled its way out of the alternator somehow while I was driving.  I thought my alternator had taken a poo poo, because all of the electrical stuff started to deteriorate, and then a mile later the motor quit.
Black88GTA fucked around with this message at 03:24 on Mar 10, 2015 |
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Mar 10, 2015 03:17
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Black88GTA posted:Usually main relay issues show up as hard starting / no starting, especially when it's hot in the car (like sitting in the sun, etc). That's what happened with mine a few years back. I don't think I've heard of one that caused the car to quit once underway, although I'm not saying it's impossible. He said it quit when he was going around a corner or something but Ill know more once I can take a look at it. It didnt have any weird problems like you described until the not running one today.
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Mar 10, 2015 03:22
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For the guy with static issues - could be a crummy modulator or it could just be overmodulating. That will splatter noise across several adjacent channels usually, try turning the volume down a little on the device feeding it audio. If you run it direct from the battery make sure you have a fuse of proper amperage (I would say the smallest you can buy, a modulator draws next to nothing) in the positive lead as close as possible to the battery as possible. Carbeques suck. Also since there was no change, I would move it back to being powered off the radio harness if you haven't already.
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Mar 10, 2015 04:15
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Slavvy posted:Have you got points ignition? Your gap/dwell might be set incorrectly. Excellent question. I can tell you the dwell is bang on. Timing is more or less correct. I had to statically time it because the stupid timing strobe burned out on the second use. I replaced the scorched component but it still fizzled. I had the drat thing shipped from the U.K. because it's still waaaay cheaper than buying one of similar quality in Australia. The timing is a motherfucker to set statically but I did it according to the operations manual. Personally I think that the fact that there are sections of the radiator that are stone cold even when the engine is at 90 odd *C is a pretty good indicator that it's totally rooted.
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Mar 10, 2015 07:22
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Has anyone else used Sylvania Silverstar Ultra headlamps? A few months ago I bought a pair to replace the headlights on my new to me 2001 Saab 9-5, since one of the original ones were damaged by PO stupidity (the passenger side lamp was missing its retaining clip so they attached it with a big wad of electrical tape to the plastic cover in the rear. Why they didn't just tape it to the ceramic of the fixture is beyond me). I bought them in November, and as of a couple days ago both had burned out. I've read some things online saying that other people have had them burn out quickly, but three months is crazy, especially for lamps that are so expensive. Long story short, should I chock this up as manufacturing defect or start doing some electrical fault finding? I'm not sure what kind of electrical fault I'd be looking for, since as far as I can tell they are controlled by the switch on the dash directly, rather than through an electronic controller, so I don't know how any current spike would happen.And for the record I did not handle them with my bare hands before installing.
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Mar 10, 2015 14:07
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It's pretty hard to give a bulb in a car a current spike since they're rated to run at the maximum voltage the system provides, I'd suspect something more like moisture/debris infiltration due to the lamp not being properly sealed in its housing. Either that or manufacturing defect, or you aren't giving them enough voltage due to marginal OEM wiring. Halogen bulbs work on the halogen cycle, if you run them too cold the halogen cycle doesn't work anymore and tungsten evaporated from the filament during normal operation doesn't get re-deposited, so the bulbs will fail much faster. Test the voltage at the lamp, it should be above 10.8 volts and preferably much closer to 12.
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Mar 10, 2015 14:50
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kastein posted:For the guy with static issues - could be a crummy modulator or it could just be overmodulating. That will splatter noise across several adjacent channels usually, try turning the volume down a little on the device feeding it audio. I've tried everything in regards to volume and the static remains. I've tried turning down the volume on my phone as well as the gain dial directly on the modulator and the static still remains if I turn the stereo volume up. Also, the static isn't just on adjacent stations. For example, the modulator is overriding 88.3, but I hear the static/reduced reception on 101.5. And I don't plan on leaving it wired to the battery. I just connected it so I could definitively determine if the wiring source was the cause of the problem. It appears it wasn't so I'll hook it back up to the power on the head unit harness. I did open it up to see if I could see any obvious broken solder points/etc, but I couldn't see anything. The circuit board does appear to have a bunch of crap on it, though, so I don't know if this was an old/refurbished unit they sent me or something. I've already started the exchange process with Amazon. I'm outside of the 30 day return window, but it has a 1-year manufacturer warranty and Amazon says they will facilitate manufacturer warranties for auto parts (hoping this qualifies as an auto part). 
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Mar 10, 2015 14:56
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Thanks, I will test the voltage today when I get off my rump. If there was moisture or debris infiltration would there be any visual indication of that on the bulb itself? I definitely considered that possibility when the first one went since that lens has a crack in it (I'm replacing it today), but the other one was in the other side which is solid.
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Mar 10, 2015 15:02
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SCA Enthusiast posted:
If you have daylight running lights, that's sadly the norm with SSU lights. They took a page from computer/phone manufacturers, and their one-year life expectancy is based on something like 30 minutes per day. Since DRL means they're on 100% of the time you're driving, it really cuts down on the bulbs' life
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Mar 10, 2015 15:03
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Beyond what kastein and SD said, high output bulbs simply don't last as long as your traditional halogen bulb - they're cranking out a bit more light, with the same wattage/voltage, which means the filament runs a lot hotter. Which means it burns out faster. 4 months is on the short side for sure though, I generally get about 1-2 years out of Phillips Xtreme Vision bulbs (which are also high output bulbs - and a bit cheaper - and a bit brighter than Silverstar Ultras, just have to order them online). The majority of cars I've owned have had the original headlamp bulbs when I purchased the car, and they still work fine when I remove them, they're just on the dim side. The shortened bulb lifespan is worth it for me, since I do most of my driving at night, and do a decent bit of driving on rural roads.
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Mar 10, 2015 15:07
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Sentient Data posted:If you have daylight running lights, that's sadly the norm with SSU lights. They took a page from computer/phone manufacturers, and their one-year life expectancy is based on something like 30 minutes per day. Since DRL means they're on 100% of the time you're driving, it really cuts down on the bulbs' life The car came with DRLs but I removed the fuse (which is what the manual tells you to do if you don't want them). I decided that I didn't want exactly what you described to happen. Edit: when the first one popped I swapped in the old lamp, which I can only assume is original. Its still running. This is of course the one that wasn't scuffed up by being in contact with the housing ceramic. epic bird guy fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Mar 10, 2015 |
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Mar 10, 2015 15:11
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The bright silver box fancy ones are rated for 80 hours, where the cheap purple or blue box ones are rated for hundreds of hours.
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Mar 10, 2015 20:39
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kastein posted:Test the voltage at the lamp, it should be above 10.8 volts and preferably much closer to 12. Voltage was 11.8, so that's in good shape, and I just replaced the cracked lens, so that will prevent any future ingress. Unless more start popping I'm going to call it a done deal. Thanks for the suggestions, everybody!
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Mar 10, 2015 22:55
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Has anyone here ever seen an aftermarket battery terminal that looks like the one in this picture? 
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Mar 11, 2015 02:01
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zundfolge posted:Has anyone here ever seen an aftermarket battery terminal that looks like the one in this picture? This?
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Mar 11, 2015 02:05
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Yeah, but the bare terminal (the right-angle one with the stud on it), no cables. I'm trying to build (or have built) a custom positive cable for my Volvo and no one seems to sell anything like it. e: the only reason I'm after something so specific is that the packaging around the battery in my car is so tight that nothing else will fit. SUSE Creamcheese fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Mar 11, 2015 |
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Mar 11, 2015 02:11
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I'm pretty sure its the floor mat at this point and I've got no clue how this would happen anyways but I thought I'd ask. Is there anyways you could experience runaway acceleration on a N/A car with a physical throttle cable? I'm fairly certain the floor mat is slipping with the gravel under it and doing something with the throttle pedal. Its had it happen like 3 times in the past month and it goes away as soon as I hit the brakes, so its never done this for more than a second. My whole thing is if the spring on the throttle body failed it would just stay open since there's no way the engine creates enough of a vacuum to force the throttle body open.
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Mar 11, 2015 03:00
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Has anyone successfully leased a CPO vehicle? I've found some vague information suggesting that car dealers still offer them, but don't advertise it. Am I right in thinking that it would be a good idea because 1. The car has the full CPO warranty for the duration of the lease 2. The overall cost of the lease would be less than leasing a new car since the depreciation of a 3-year old CPO car between age 3 and 6 is less than the depreciation of a new car between age 0 and 3
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Mar 11, 2015 03:31
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1500quidporsche posted:I'm pretty sure its the floor mat at this point and I've got no clue how this would happen anyways but I thought I'd ask. The throttle can get stuck, but the engine isn't going to pull it open on its own. I had the throttle linkage in my Corvette bind up against the oil line running to the guage. The pedal stayed where I put it and wouldn't return. I could get my toe under it to bring it back, then pulled over and figured out the problem.
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Mar 11, 2015 05:48
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1500quidporsche posted:I'm pretty sure its the floor mat at this point and I've got no clue how this would happen anyways but I thought I'd ask. It's possible the cable has worn through its sheath and is binding up somewhere, and when you hit the brake pedal, something is flexing enough to allow it to release. Had it happen on one of my Honda Accords, the cable had worn through at the firewall, though I'd usually have to lift the pedal back up with my foot after I'd ignored it for long enough (and it eventually got stuck entirely, that was a load of fun!).
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Mar 11, 2015 06:17
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zundfolge posted:Yeah, but the bare terminal (the right-angle one with the stud on it), no cables. I'm trying to build (or have built) a custom positive cable for my Volvo and no one seems to sell anything like it. This looks like the one from V70. There are tons of them in the junkyards.
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Mar 11, 2015 06:41
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zundfolge posted:Yeah, but the bare terminal (the right-angle one with the stud on it), no cables. I'm trying to build (or have built) a custom positive cable for my Volvo and no one seems to sell anything like it. Perhaps get one of those marine terminals Kastein likes, then bend the eyelet on the crimp 90 degrees? Or is that still too long? Assuming you don't want a secondhand junkyard part like iv46vi mentioned.
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Mar 11, 2015 08:46
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Stupid electrical question. The lights on the air conditioning panel and one of the gauge cluster lights on my 92 Miata only work intermittently. What course of action should be taken to make them work all the time?
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Mar 11, 2015 14:05
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Raluek posted:Perhaps get one of those marine terminals Kastein likes, then bend the eyelet on the crimp 90 degrees? Or is that still too long? Assuming you don't want a secondhand junkyard part like iv46vi mentioned. One of those would work-thanks for reminding me of them. The cable just has to make a 90-degree turn, or else it runs into the air cleaner or the intercooler piping. As for getting one from the junkyard, the factory positive cable corrodes after 15+ years and its resistance gets high enough that it heats up a lot when a lot of accessories are running. It can also cause problems with the CAN bus because the modules reset if the system voltage drops below a certain threshold. Finally, the stock cable runs inside a wire duct and you can't easily remove it without either destroying the duct or cutting off the starter terminal. I guess the former doesn't matter so much in a junkyard car, but it's a lot of work for a crappy cable.
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Mar 11, 2015 14:38
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RillAkBea posted:Stupid electrical question. The lights on the air conditioning panel and one of the gauge cluster lights on my 92 Miata only work intermittently. What course of action should be taken to make them work all the time? Replace the bulbs.
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Mar 11, 2015 15:54
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I've got a 2006 Hyundai Sonata (GLS V6 3.3L) with 105k miles on it. I bought it at about 20k, and only needed typical maintenance until about 70k. Since then I've seemed to hit this cycle of problems related to anything remotely connected to the wheels/suspension. -Multiple brake/rotor replacements -Upper control arm replacements -Tire replacements (probably replaced a total of 10 tires) -Front end struts -Bushing replacement -More poo poo I can't remember and probably need to grab the records in my glovebox to jog my memory (I'll do this during lunch break) -Basically $800-$1500 worth of problems a year on suspension/wheel stuff alone I've gone to a mix of Hyundai dealerships (holy poo poo they suck so bad) and local places trying to find some trustworthy and competent people, and the best I've done is the local Midas shop that don't charge me to diagnose stuff if they don't do work, and generally go out of their way to show me what the problem is visually. I'm starting to learn more about cars, but compared to pretty much any other poster in this subforum I'm absolutely clueless, so that's a hell of a lot better than the dealership (that did stuff in hindsight seems ungodly stupid). Anyway, the midas guys say that replacing bushings isn't a really good move in general, they're bad again, and that my car now needs lower control arm replacements if I want to stop my latest problem of slight rocking/shuddering during accelerations/turns/braking for more than a couple months. So about $1500. Given the car's age, I think spending this much money on suspension stuff alone is getting stupid. So my stupid question is "will fixing the lower control arm likely end my recent cycle of recurring problems and let me enjoy another 3-5 years of good use of my car, which has had zero engine/transmission issues ever, or should I just go bite the bullet and get a new drat car?" Related question: if I DO sell or trade in the Sonata, do I have to disclose this issue beyond handing the prospective buyer past maintenance records? If so, what do I disclose? It's not the most noticeable thing in the world yet, I am just super aware because I've driven it 80k miles. It's probably another month or two away from really making rocking creaking noises when going over bumps and stuff. Normally I'd just jump at the new car, but I'm already making payments on a Forester I got with the fiance. So being cheap for another few years would be nice, if it's possible.
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Mar 11, 2015 16:03
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Mr Executive posted:I've tried everything in regards to volume and the static remains. I've tried turning down the volume on my phone as well as the gain dial directly on the modulator and the static still remains if I turn the stereo volume up. Also, the static isn't just on adjacent stations. For example, the modulator is overriding 88.3, but I hear the static/reduced reception on 101.5. That looks like garbage grade solder flux left by a child laborer in China. Sadly the norm on low cost electronics. I've seen some truly horrific soldering on stuff like that.
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Mar 11, 2015 16:06
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That car sounds like a lemon. You've pretty much replaced the entire front suspension on a nine year old car. Unless you're taking it to track days there's no reason you should be going through brakes and tires like that. Control arms triangulate the wheels so that could be behind some of the harshness in handling. I'd question why they weren't replaced while the bushings were done though if its that bad.
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Mar 11, 2015 16:37
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Pander posted:-Upper control arm replacements Do you recall at any point the car having an alignment done with all of these suspension parts being replaced?
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Mar 11, 2015 16:42
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